{"id":948779,"date":"2026-05-09T17:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T17:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/948779\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T17:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T17:53:25","slug":"can-you-recycle-crisp-packets-at-home-what-bin-they-go-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/948779\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you recycle crisp packets at home? What bin they go in"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Whether you have a pack of crisps a day or you have them as an irregular treat, you\u2019ll end up with a shiny and empty bag once you\u2019re finished eating them, but do you know where to put it?\n<\/p>\n

\n Homeowners will know to recycle plastic in their blue or green bins, but these small wrappers should be disposed of elsewhere.\n<\/p>\n

Can you recycle empty crisp packets?<\/p>\n

\n Crisp packets can be recycled, but not at UK homes via regular bin collections.\n<\/p>\n

\n Instead, you\u2019ll need to dispose of them at your local supermarket, where they can be recycled.\n<\/p>\n

\n Recycle Now<\/a> explains: \u201cCrisp packets are not currently recyclable in home recycling collections but can be recycled along with plastic bags and wrapping at selected retailers\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n It added: \u201cCrisp packets can also be recycled via Terracycle’s Crisp Packet Recycling Scheme.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n If you don\u2019t want to take your empty crisp packets to your local supermarket to recycle, they will need to go in your general waste wheelie bin for collection.\n<\/p>\n

\n In December, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council reminded its local residents on Facebook<\/a> that while \u201ccrisp packets might look shiny\u201d, they can\u2019t be recycled from household bin collections.\n<\/p>\n

\n Homeowners in the area were also encouraged to \u201ctake them to your local supermarket that can recycle soft plastics.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Recycling is done at home in the UK but sometimes you have to visit recycling points to dispose of certain items (Image: Getty)\n<\/p>\n

Which UK supermarkets recycle soft plastics like crisp packets for you?<\/p>\n

\n Sainsbury\u2019s, Co-op and Tesco are among the UK supermarkets that will recycle soft plastics for you if you drop them off there.\n<\/p>\n

\n Co-op asks customers to clean the soft plastics, scrunch them up and put them in the soft recycling unit, which is a blue bin at its stores.\n<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s worth checking what your local supermarket accepts and what facilities they have before heading there with your wrappers.\n<\/p>\n

What are soft plastics?<\/p>\n

\n Soft plastics can be found in fridges and cupboards and are used to cover everyday essentials.\n<\/p>\n

\n Co-op<\/a> explains: \u201cSoft plastics are lightweight plastics that often cannot be placed in recycling bins at home.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThink plastic film lids on yoghurt pots, soft fruit punnets and ready meals, as well as plastic crisp packets, pasta bags and chocolate or biscuit wrappers.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Graham Flynn, waste management expert at Anenta,<\/a> explains: \u201cCrisp packets are typically made from a combination of plastic film and metallic layers, which means they cannot usually be recycled through standard household recycling collections.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhere dedicated soft plastics collection points are available, consumers should keep packets clean and dry and take them to participating supermarkets or specialist recycling schemes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Can you get fined for putting bins out early?<\/p>\n

What happens if you try to recycle crisp packets at home?<\/p>\n

\n Graham adds: \u201cIf these services are not available locally, crisp packets should be placed in general waste rather than household recycling bins.\n<\/p>\n

\n Recommended reading:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cPutting flexible plastics into the wrong recycling stream can contaminate recyclable materials and create processing problems for local authorities.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere has been progress in expanding soft plastics collections across the UK, but clearer and more consistent public guidance is still needed to improve recycling rates and reduce contamination.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Do you recycle your soft plastics like crisp packets? Let us know in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether you have a pack of crisps a day or you have them as an irregular treat, you\u2019ll…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-948779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116545900144437002","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}